A Recipe for Chicken Liver Pâté That Is Free from Campylobacter

A recipe for Chicken Liver Pâté that is free from Campylobacter

Ingredients: Method:

Step 1 568 ml (1 pint) of vinegar There is no need to trim the Place the livers into the milk and livers to remove sinew or transfer to a refrigerator to soak 450g (1lb) of chicken livers connective tissue. These in the milk and herbs for at least (prefrozen and then thawed) types of preparations can one hour. Wash work surfaces contaminate the work area with hot soapy water to clean 568 ml (1 pint) of milk with campylobacters, which any splashes of milk that landed can then cross contaminate on the surfaces when placing Two bay leaves to other foods. the livers.

Five sprigs of fresh thyme The livers are blended and Splashes can potentially

passed through a sieve later in contain campylobacters, which 15g (½ oz) of boiled beetroot the recipe, which removes the can cross contaminate other connective tissue from the final foods that may be consumed Two cloves of garlic product. without cooking.

120g of shallots Step 2 After the milk is removed from Bruise two sprigs of thyme and the refrigerator, it will be pink 50ml (2 fluid oz) of tear a bay leaf into eight pieces from the blood removed from Brandy or Cognac and add them to a large oven- the livers. proof bowl. Crush one clove of Five medium sized eggs garlic and roughly chop 50g of Blood can give the pâté a shallots (there is no need to peel bitter taste. 450g of spreadable butter either) and also add those to the bowl. Salt and pepper

Thyme, bay, garlic and shallots contain natural antimicrobial compounds called essential oils, which can reduce the numbers of campylobacters present on chicken livers (but not eliminate them).

Add 15g (½ oz) of salt and the 568 ml of milk to the bowl and stir until the salt has dissolved.

(Step 2) Livers soaking in milk under refrigeration.

11 Method (cont):

Step 3 If the livers are contaminated Using a sieve, separate the with campylobacters, the milk from the livers and allow majority will be on the liver the livers to drain for two surface and the vinegar wash will minutes before rinsing them remove a high proportion of any under a running tap to remove contamination that is present. the last traces of milk. To prevent contamination of the Step 4 kitchen environment, the bowl Pre-heat the oven to 130oC. and sieve should be washed in hot, soapy water to remove any Step 5 (Step 3) traces of milk. Peel and chop the remaining Livers after soaking in milk garlic and shallots. Melt 30g before rinsing in tap water. Return the livers to the (1 oz) of butter in a pan and cleaned bowl. add the garlic, shallots and the leaves from two sprigs As before, clean up any splashes of thyme. with hot soapy water to ensure there is no cross contamination Cook for two or three minutes to other foods. Pour all of the until the shallots soften and vinegar onto the livers and allow begin to turn brown. them to soak for two minutes with occasional mixing to ensure Transfer the contents of the all of the liver surfaces are pan to the food processor. exposed to the vinegar. Using a (Step 5) sieve, pour the vinegar off, and Step 6 Cooked garlic, shallots and the allow the livers to drain inside Add 400g of butter to the leaves from two sprigs of thyme. the sieve for two minutes. pan and set it on a low heat to melt the butter. The livers may look a little pale after the vinegar wash, but if you Spreadable butter contains slice open one of the livers, it a far lower percentage of will show the colour change has saturated fat compared affected only the outer surface to traditional butter. of the liver.

(Step 6) Melt, but do not oxidise (burn) the butter.

2 Method (cont):

Step 7 Step 11 Wash the oven-proof bowl Line the base and sides of a thoroughly, and return the livers one-litre volume terrine with to it. Add the cognac and mix greaseproof paper that has been the livers around to coat their softened by scrunching under a surfaces with the alcohol before running tap. Leave an overlap of igniting the bowl contents using paper of a little larger than the a blowtorch or the heat from a width of the terrine. gas ring. Exposure to alcohol before ignition will also reduce Step 12 the numbers of campylobacters Boil a kettle of water for use in (Step 7) on the livers, as will the heat the Bain Marie. Rinse and drain the livers before generated by igniting the adding the brandy and igniting. alcohol. After ignition, the Step 13 remaining cognac components Transfer the blender contents adds flavour to the livers. into a fine mesh sieve (2 mm hole size or finer) and using the Step 8 back of a ladle, push the livers Transfer the livers and through the sieve into the bowl. the beetroot into the food Connective tissue and sinew will processor containing the be left behind in the sieve. softened shallots and herbs Dis-pose of any remnants and commence blending. Add carefully and wash all the five eggs, one at a time, equipment that has been used over a period of five minutes thoroughly in hot soapy water. (Step 8) whilst continuously blending. Cooked and prepared Step 14 ingredients prior to blending. Step 9 Pour the bowl contents into the Add two teaspoons of salt and a paper-lined terrine and fold the teaspoon of freshly ground black trailing end of greaseproof paper pepper to the blending livers. over the top of the pâté.

Step 10 Place the terrine inside a roasting Gradually add the 400g of melted tray and place into the pre-heat- butter to the processor over two ed oven. Fill the tray with boiling or three minutes whilst blending water to ¾ of the height of the continuously. If the butter is terrine. It is important the water added too quickly, the fat may is boiling. Cover the roasting tray congeal and not disperse evenly with a piece of loosely-wrapped through the blended livers. aluminium foil.

3 Method (cont):

Cover the roasting tray with a the pâté can be trimmed using piece of loosely-wrapped a sharp knife to remove any aluminium foil. discoloured (brown) areas.

Step 15 Step 19 Cook for 45 minutes then Once trimmed, the remaining measure the temperature in the butter should be melted with cen-tre of the pâté using a the leaves from the remain- tempera-ture probe. If the ing thyme and some roughly temperature is hotter than 68oC, crushed black peppers. then the pâté is cooked and can (Step 14) be removed from the oven. If A pastry brush should be used A check of the temperature in the centre is lower than 68oC, to coat the pâté with a thin the core of the pâté is important then return the pâté to the oven coating of the infused butter. to make sure it is properly until the tem-perature in the The butter coating prevents the cooked and won’t make centre hits 68oC. surface of the pâté from oxidis- people ill. ing and discolouring again. Step 16 Remove the pâté from the Bain Step 20 Marie and leave it to cool If it has been cooked according at room temperature for an hour to the instructions and careful before refrigerating overnight to cleaning has been undertaken harden the butter and firm up to prevent contaminated the the pâté. kitch-en environment, the pâté will not contain any Step 17 campylobacters. Remove the greaseproof paper from the top of the pâté and Consequently, the pâté can be place the terrine in a tray of boil- stored in a refrigerator at 4oC for ing water for two minutes. up to five days. After five days, (Step 15) spoilage might become Pâté that is cooked under After two minutes, the pâté can a concern and so if the pâté is controlled conditions in a Bain be carefully lifted out of the required to be stored for longer Marie to 68oC is pink inside terrine using the paper lining periods, freezing is recommend- and does not contain any and placed on a chopping board. ed. Pâté that is cooked under Campylobacter bacteria that controlled conditions in a Bain can cause food borne illness. Step 18 Marie to 68oC is pink inside and The greaseproof paper can be does not contain any Campylo- removed by careful peeling and bacter bacteria that can cause food borne illness.